Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #361 of the Bitcoin Breakdown daily newsletter, where we’re rounding up the most talked-about developments in the Bitcoin-only space from the past weekend with our Quick Bits and Quick Media sections.

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🧹 Jimmy Song Slams OP_Return Change as 'fiat,' Knots Nodes Soar

• ⛏️ Bitcoin Difficulty Hits New ATH As Miners Turn Up the Hash

• ⏳ Fourth Turning Tailwind for Bitcoin

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Sep 22, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🧹 Jimmy Song Slams OP_Return Change as 'fiat,' Knots Nodes Soar

Influential Bitcoin OG Jimmy Song is now releasing vlogs by the day, blasting Bitcoin Core 30's removal of the 80-byte OP_Return cap in his latest, calling it a 'fiat mentality' dodge that invites non-monetary spam. Despite community pushback, the change has advanced, echoing the block size wars and sparking split talk. Node runners are voting with their feet as Bitcoin Knots continue to jump in popularity, letting operators enforce strict data limits. Keeping data lean keeps Bitcoin cheap to verify on $300 hardware, unlike bulky, centralized smart contract sh!tcoin chains. Cointelegraph

⛏️ Bitcoin Difficulty Hits New ATH As Miners Turn Up the Hash

Bitcoin's mining difficulty has set a new record at 142.3T, up 29.6% this year, as hashrate tops 1.1 T hashes per second. But the hash arms race is squeezing small miners as governments and utilities step in. Pakistan earmarked 2,000 megawatts for BTC mining; and Bhutan and El Salvador are also in the mix. With BTC near record prices, miners can stay online, while the network grows tougher against 51% attacks, especially after Monero's recent scare. Decrypt

⏳ Fourth Turning Tailwind for Bitcoin

Market analyst Jordi Visser argues Bitcoin will accelerate as the world has entered a Fourth Turning reset, with trust evaporating in banks, employers, governments, and fiat currency. Speaking to Anthony Pompliano, he says BTC benefits as consumers face inflation, tariffs, and a K-shaped economy squeezing the bottom. University of Michigan data show only 24% expect steady spending by 2026, while over 60% foresee higher unemployment. In that climate, neutral, permissionless hard money looks like the exit. Cointelegraph

POLL #361

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

QUICK BITS

• Metaplanet becomes the world's fifth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder after acquiring 5,419 BTC for $633M, bringing total holdings to 25,555 BTC worth nearly $3B.

• Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates, projects bitcoin to reach $250K and ‘blockchain analytics’ to become essential for national defense and financial security against sophisticated threats.

• Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter teases a ‘massive political bombshell’ for Tuesday that could supposedly reshape Bitcoin politics and regulatory trajectory.

• Kevin Durant, NBA star, recovers lost Coinbase account after nearly a decade with help from CEO Brian Armstrong.

• ZOOZ Power, a Tel Aviv-based energy company, surges 262% after shareholders approve $180M bitcoin treasury strategy, planning to allocate 95% of proceeds to acquire approximately 1,470 BTC.

• European Union targets Bitcoin and crypto platforms in its 19th sanctions package against Russia, prohibiting transactions for Russian residents and restricting dealings with foreign banks.

• Chinese national Zhimin Qian faces trial in London for allegedly orchestrating a $7B bitcoin fraud scheme that victimized 130,000 investors through her Ponzi-style investment company.

• Bhutan transfers $107M in bitcoin to new wallets, raising concerns about potential sell pressure and market volatility.

• Early Riders, a Bitcoin venture fund, launches 'The Stables' accelerator in Texas Hill Country, offering 2-5 BTC funding to global Bitcoin startups focused on consumer financial services and practical adoption solutions.

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong outlines ambitious plans to transform the exchange into a comprehensive financial ‘super app’, offering credit cards with 4% Bitcoin rewards, payments, and banking services to challenge traditional financial institutions.

• MoneyBadger, a Bitcoin payment platform, enables Bitcoin transactions at 200+ Seattle Coffee Company locations across South Africa through Zapper QR codes.

•  Fernando Nikolic, former Blockstream VP, warns Bitcoin enthusiasts that those celebrating dollar collapse misunderstand the devastating reality of currency failure and societal breakdown.

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QUICK MEDIA

• Michael Saylor, in an appearance on Natalie Brunell's Coin Stories podcast, argues that the widespread negative narratives about his company comes from bots funded by short sellers (Sep 21 | 1:19 min watch). 

• Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether and CTO of Bitfinex, in an appearance on CoinGecko's podcast, argues that he prioritizes investing in long-term scalable technology like the Lightning Network over trendy Layer 1 solutions that lack 15-20 year sustainability (Sep 18 | 1:29 min watch). 

• Samson Mow of JAN3, in an appearance on the Bitcoin Archive podcast, warns that Bitcoin's rapid rise through 'hyperbitcoinization' and ‘omega candles’ will create maximum pain for underinvested individuals, as underfunded liabilities, potential nation-state adoption, and failing traditional currencies accelerate Bitcoin's emergence as the dominant global alternative to government-controlled money (Sep 19 | 13:03 min watch).

• Preston Pysh of The Investor's Podcast, in a talk on BTC Sessions, argues that Michael Saylor has 'hacked the legacy financial system' by leveraging debt to acquire bitcoin, achieving in 5 years what would traditionally take a company 1,000 years through earnings alone (Sep 22 | 14:48 min watch). 

• Isabella Santos of BTC Isla explores conspiracy theories suggesting the CIA or NSA invented Bitcoin, examining evidence like the NSA's early cryptographic research and SHA-256 algorithm development, but ultimately argues Bitcoin's decentralized nature means it has escaped any potential government control (Sep 19 | 6:58 min watch). 

• Anita Posch of Bitcoin For Fairness explores Bitcoin's long-term sustainability, examining whether transaction fees can replace mining rewards, the profit-driven nature of corporate miners, network adaptability mechanisms, and the community's strong opposition to tail emissions beyond the 21M Bitcoin limit (Sep 20 | 4:03 min watch).

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